Travel Agent - December 22, 2009 - (Page 2)

REALITY CHECK Fewer U.S. Tourists in Japan While the rest of Asia is reporting increases in U.S. tourism, Japan continues to lose American visitors. A recent report noted that for each of the six months leading up to September, the number of U.S. visitors to Japan was consistently lower than the year before—most significantly, in September, when the year-toyear drop was more than 11 percent. Month # of U.S. Visitors % Change from ‘07 Affluent Travelers Staying Closer to Home Affluent travelers in the U.S. are looking for luxury closer to home—with Mexico replacing Europe as the destination of choice—and making their plans closer to their travel dates. As many as 79% of respondents to the October 2008 Altour Travel Index, a bi-monthly survey of Altour travel agents throughout the U.S., report the current global financial crisis has negatively impacted their clients’ travel plans. While cancellations of already booked trips remain modest, new bookings are down across every market segment, from cruises to packaged sun/sand/surf products, with the FIT market the most resilient. For the first time since June, Mexico leads among most popular destinations for Altour clients at (45%). Hawaii is fourth at domestic U.S. at April May June July August September 69,186 69,105 76,700 72,992 57,100 57,900 -7.5% -4.5% -1.5% -4.5% -9.2% -11.3% 64%, followed by former leader Europe (55%) and South America 40%, followed by the 62%, followed 38%. When asked to rank emerging markets, agents ranked South America (in particular, Brazil, Argentina and Chile) number one at by Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand) at Source: Japan National Tourist Organization 55%, and Egypt (45%). Online Bookings Up, But Satisfaction With Independent Sites Down While the percentage of travelers making online airline, rental car and hotel reservations has increased by 15 points during the past year, bookings for independent travel websites have increased by only 1 percentage point since 2007, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study. ISRAEL According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, 2008 is expected to be the best year ever for the tourism industry, with a recordbreaking number of incoming tourists. Three million visitors have already entered the country this year, representing a 30 percent growth compared to last year’s figures. Tourism statistics for 2008 will be the highest since 2000, when 2.672 million tourists visited Israel. Since the beginning of the year, some 10.4 million international passengers moved through Ben Gurion Airport airport, an increase of 10.27 percent compared to the same period last year. 70% of travel reservations were booked online in 2008—up from 53% in 2007— only 16% were made through independent travel webThe study finds that while sites. This marks a negligible market share increase of 1 percent in 2008. Additionally, consumers who booked their travel using an independent website were considerably less satisfied compared with 2007—specifically, customers most frequently cite the additional pages that pop up during the booking process as a problem. The full report is available at www.jdpower.com. CONNECTING YOU For more data and statistics on consumer and industry trends, visit www.travelagentcentral.com/stats 2 | TravelAgent December 22, 2008 http://www.jdpower.com http://www.travelagentcentral.com/stats

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - December 22, 2009

Travel Agent - December 22, 2009 Reality Check Contents Online Now From the Editor Mexico: The Riviera Maya has Hotels for Every Taste and Style Europe: The Brand-New ME Barcelona has an Exciting and Stylish Vibe These Europe Deals Can Get your Clients Moving Las Vegas: Big Plans are in Store for Sin City Next Year Caribbean: Even in a Down Economy, Almond Resorts is Growing Cover Story: Industry Deals of the Year Tips to Weather the Economic Storm Julia Aliseo Specializes in Cruises Social Networking can Spur Growth Niche Cruises Offer Great Deals Industry Reacts to Mumbai Attacks Travel Counsellors Ramps Up for ‘09 Change is Underway at Air Jamaica Uniglobe Travel Center Expanding Agent Access Editorial Index Advertising Index In the Spotlight Special Supplement: Caribbean Travel.com

Travel Agent - December 22, 2009

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